College News

“Project College Bound” Lands at Fisher

11/04/2013

On Monday, October 28, 35 students from the Rochester Early College and International High School came to campus to participate in “Project College Bound,” a program led by Dr. Jeff Liles, Associate Professor in the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. School of Education.

This was the group’s second visit to campus, with two more visits planned. The 9th and 10th graders spent the morning learning about the financial aid process, HEOP opportunities, multicultural and diversity events at Fisher, and college readiness.

As part of the project, students divided into groups and came up with a research question related to college readiness. They were specifically interested in questions about time management, the transition from high school to college, extracurricular activities, and academic skills. For one hour, faculty and staff volunteers rotated from group to group, answering the students’ questions. Volunteers included: Fr. Bill Graff, Dr. Barb Lowe, Dr. Jim Wood, Dr. Ryan Thibodeau, Dr. Todd Sodano, Dr. Christine Boev, Jennifer Pluretti, Eileen Atwell, Carol Ziegler, and Dr. Pam Mapstone. Several Fisher students, including Kyle Barry, Danielle Juliano, Lyndsey White, Jennifer Keeler, and Jose Ramos, also participated in the exercise.

According to Liles, fewer than 50 percent of the students in the Rochester City School District graduate from high school in four years. And, of that number, the state reports that only five percent are “college ready.” Liles said that the high school affords its students the opportunity to take college courses at Monroe Community College for high school and college credit.

“’Project College Bound’ is designed to support the high school’s mission and the students there who are interested in going to college. Research shows that programs like this help students academically while they are in high school and increases the odds that they will go to college and be successful. I am really hopeful that our program will have this impact,” Liles said.